If you'd like to make a trip of it, the Vineman 1/2 IM in Sonoma is a great race. It's the end of July, so it's on the hot side, but it's a fantastic course. Good luck, wherever you end up racing!

The Spirit of Racine - in Racine Wisconsin is a great 1/2IM. It is in late July.
Extremely well run.
Check it out at: [url]http://www.spiritofracinetri.com[/url]

The US Half Triathlon Championship is in KC in September. And there is one near St. Louis in June.
Check out Ultra Max Events web site: [URL=http://www.ultramaxtri.com/]www.ultramaxtri.com[/URL]

The Steelhead HalfIronman is in Early August in Benton Harbor Michigan (Near Indiana Boarder).
It is a very large race that attracts from all over. The coaurse is the best I have ever seen. The swim in Lake Michigan brings the feel of a real Ironman race with the large open water swim. The beaches are great for after the race. I will be doing this race every year if i can.

The Grand Haven Triathlon, in honor of my good friend Tony Thompson had its inaugeral event last year with 560 registered racers. We had a sprint du, sprint tri and a 1000m swim, 40k bike and 10k run. We had people from 18 states and everyone loved the course, post race food, etc. We're adding a 1/2 IM to next year's event and anticipate over 1000 athletes. The event is July 9, 2006. I'm just an individual who helped out locally but the race info (and tribute to Tony) is on 3disciplines.com web site.
Take care,
Ron

Muncie Enurathon ... Muncie IN (1 hour NW of Indy).

[url]http://www.muncieendurathon.com/[/url]

Heard great things about it and they have been doing the race for more than 25 years so i am confident that they have a good race.

I'd watch for news from US Half Championships and the qualifiers. These are are all top quality races.

[QUOTE=TriTimKC]The US Half Triathlon Championship is in KC in September. And there is one near St. Louis in June.
Check out Ultra Max Events web site: [URL=http://www.ultramaxtri.com/]www.ultramaxtri.com[/URL][/QUOTE]

I've done the Half Max near St. Louis the past two years. Wonderful venue and volunteers, a clean lake, good bike course but be warned - the run is brutal but luckily mostly shaded.... One of the most difficult half ironman races around but the finisher's medal is worth it. And of course, I will be doing it next year.

[url]http://www.ultramaxtri.com/Races/Halfmax/Images/maps/half_run_profile.gi...

Hey Mike,

I too am thinking about doing a Half IM next year. I was thinking about doig Pigman in IA but then I found out that there is a new one in our neck of the woods. The Liberty Triathlon will now have a Half IM race. The race is in June, a bit early in the season maybe, but it's close to home so there won't be a lot of travel expenses to deal with.

If you are still looking for a race, you might want to check out this site: [URL=http://www.trimapper.com/]TRImapper.com[/URL] It can help you find Half IM races around the country, even around the world.

Let us know which one you pick.

-triNick

the pigman in iowa is a great 1/2 distance very well run event.. also muncie is the best they both treat like pro's

Does the Pigman sell out quickly? Any of you doing an Ironman as well?- How much time would you recommend between doing a half IM and an IM?

Depending on your other season/long-range goals, you might consider the Liberty Triathlon ([url]http://www.libertytri.com/)[/url], right in your backyard. It's in early June, so it works out great for September IM training. Last year I did the Square Lake Triathlon ([url]http://www.vacationsports.com/squarelaketri.html[/url]) near Stillwater in September. It was a fun race, if not lacking for a bit of support, particularly on the bike.

I'm doing Ironman WI, so Square Lake won't work (same day). Liberty Tri looks pretty good, except I have somewhat set plans for that weekend already. It looks like a good race to keep in mind for the future though. Good to see there are still reasonably priced half IMs out there- I'm hesitating on Racine because it's $135+, wheras Pigman is only $85.

pigman does sell out however it is 4 weeks out from ironman wis. Muncie would be the best bet. I plan on signing up this week. I am also doing IMWis.

I'm also doing IMWI 2006 - Will also do Spirit of Racine HIM
23-Jul-06
[url]http://www.spiritofracinetri.com/index.php[/url]

Can anyone explain why doing a half IM 3 weeks out from and IM would be bad?? It seems to me this is about the time when you should be fittest and peaking on distance. -leaving 3 weeks to taper and fully recover. How far out would be the best time for half distance, and why?? thanks

I too, am doing the Pigman on Aug. 20th. It will be my first HIM. very excited, and quite a few of the guys in our club have done it before. I emailed the race director and he said that it usually sells out in or June or July in the past.

[QUOTE=walchka]I'm currently mulling over the idea of doing a Half IM next year. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any races in the Midwest. For such a big event I wouldn't want to end up at a sub-par race. I'd be grateful for any advice you might have Thanks!

Mike[/QUOTE]
oklahoma city has one in september 26

I am going to be doing the Pigman on Aug. 20th this year too. I did the sprint in June. The event was very well run, the lake was clean, and the course was clearly marked. The only problem I had was the run was on the same road as the bike for the first mile and back on the third mile. With the staggered starts, many athletes were finishing their bike while people were running and the road into the park was not closed to traffic. Cars were driving down the middle of the road and runners were on one side with bikers zipping between cars and runners. It would have been very frustrating if I had been on my bike during this time. The bike course for the HIM is the same for a few miles out of the venue, I believe, so just be warned when leaving/coming back in August.